Not Another Adventure
by ApprenticeMana
Summary: Atem and his daughter get stranded in an unknown place where they must help poor citizens who are harassed and treated wrongly by their leader Siegfried. slight Atem/Mana
1. The Beginning

All Yugioh characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

A train runs down the tracks, leaving smoke in its trail. There is not much around it except for sand and a couple of poor looking houses. On the inside there are people either eating, sleeping or talking with familiar faces as they go on their journey. A man wearing a black tank with black leather pants walks down the aisles in search of someone. His tri colored hair stands on his head and his narrowed amethyst eyes go from left to right.

"Atem," calls a feminine voice and he turns around to see his wife. Her head is tilted to the side and her aquamarine eyes are filled with curiosity. Her spiky brown hair goes to her sides and a little bit past her shoulders.

"Mana, you shouldn't be standing in your condition," he says, looking down to her huge stomach. "I thought you were talking to Tea and Yugi."

"I was and then you left and didn't come back for awhile. I was starting to get worried. What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm looking for that daughter of yours. She's always running off somewhere in getting into trouble."

"Oh so she's my daughter when she in trouble eh?" Atem shakes his head before folding his arms and turning his head in another direction. "The last time I saw Cairo, she said that she was going to meditate." He looks back at her.

"Where else could she meditate?" They suddenly hear little thumping noises coming from the roof and Mana points her finger up. Atem slaps his forehead. "She's meditating on the roof?"

"You better get her," Mana says walking away and Atem sighs heavily in frustration. He walks to the end of the train and opens the door to the outside. Then he climbs up the ladder that will lead him to the roof. When he reaches the top he sees her sitting on the middle of the train with her arms and legs crossed. Her amethyst eyes are closed and her long black hair whooshes in the wind. It is hard to believe that she can keep still on top of the train with no problem.

"Cairo!" he shouts through the blowing wind but she cannot hear him. He stands up carefully and slowly makes his way toward her. 'If I die, I'm going to hunt her for the rest of her life.' He crouches down in front of her and places a hand on her shoulder, causing her eyes to open with surprise.

"D-Dad?" she stutters, sweat dropping.

"Couldn't you have found a better place to meditate?"

"No. There's too much stuff going on down there so it's hard to concentrate."

"It's hard to believe that you can concentrate up here as well."

"I can. It feels nice up here don't you think?"

"Enough meditating," he says as they stand up. "Let's—look out!"

"Wha--?" He pushes her back down and covers her as they go under a tunnel. He grits his teeth and keeps them pressed down as much as he can because the ceiling of the tunnel is only centimeters away from their bodies. Finally the tunnel ends and they stand once again.

"Okay, that's enough action for one day," he sighs, holding his chest. "Let's get back downstairs." Cairo nods and follows behind her father as the start toward the end on the trains. A violent suddenly blows and she stumbles a bit to the side. Her leg slips and she starts to go over.

"Uh…" she says trying to get his attention as she slowly begins to fall off the train. He whips around and grabs her arm. She slams to the side of the train as he holds her up and she grimaces from hitting the train so hard. The people in the train who happen to be Mana, Tea and Yugi look on with shock.

"Cairo!" Yugi yells with his eyes widened.

"Oh no!" exclaims Tea while Mana is speechless.

"Gah! Pull me up! Pull me up!" Cairo yells.

"What do you think I'm trying to do!? And don't yell at me!" Atem yells with sweat running down his face. The train hits a bump causing him to go forward and the next thing Mana and the others see is them falling off the train.

Mana jumps to her feet with a panicked expression and she bangs on the glass window. "Atem! Cairo!"

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYG

Mana, Tea, Yugi and their daughter Yufi stand on the platform that night with the conductor and the police surrounding them.

"Now you said they fell off the train?" asks the police. "Now how did this happen?"

"How else!?" Tea yells. "They fell from the roof!"

"Ma'am don't yell. And what were they doing on the roof?"

"Who cares! Find them!"

"So what's going to happen officer?" Yugi asks.

"It'll be awhile until we find them. From what you told us they fell off the train a long ways from here. But we will do everything we can to find them." Mana turns away and walks in the opposite direction holding her stomach.

'Please…wherever they are…let them be safe.'

_So this is a start to my new stomach. And it wasn't mentioned but Mana's eight months and I promise she will have the baby in this fic. I think I have delayed it for long enough. Please review!_


	2. New Faces

All Yugioh characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

Atem sits up and spits the dirt out of his mouth. He holds his head and looks around to find out that they are in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing but dirt around them and maybe a few weeds.

"Nyeh…" He looks over when he hears that to see his daughter lying in the dirt with her face in a daze and her arms out to her sides. He shakes her lightly but to no avail. She looks totally out of it to respond. He sighs heavily before looking up when he sees a shadow appear over him. He squints his eyes to see who it is and it appears to be a small girl with black pig tails reaching her shoulders and blue eyes.

"Who are you?" he asks.

She only stares down at him with one hand on her hip. She wears a long white skirt reaching her feet with a white blouse. She looks to be about Cairo's age which is ten. "You should come me. Unless you want to be attacked by wolves and cougars," she says and she walks away. Atem lifts Cairo up and carries her under his arm as he follows. He is very unsure about this mysterious girl and he doesn't know if he should trust her. But then again, he doesn't want to be attacked by any wild animals either.

They approach a small village with about twenty wooden houses. The roads are also made of dirt and there are stray dogs walking around. The whole village is just poor looking. Some of the houses don't even have doors. They enter a house to see an old man with a grey beard and no hair stands up with a warm smile.

"Crystal, I see you've brought visitors," the old man says, "Nice to meet you."

"Who are you and where am I?"

"Oh excuse my manners. My name is Adam. And that is my granddaughter Crystal. And you are sir?"

"I am Atem and this…" He lifts up Cairo high enough for them to see. "…is my daughter Cairo."

"Oh dear, is she alright?"

"Trust me, she will be fine."

"As for where we are, you can say we are in the middle of nowhere."

"I see."

"You look very tired. We can talk more in the morning. Right now, you need your rest."

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYG

Cairo gets up groggily the next morning in a place unfamiliar to her. She rubs her eyes and examines her surroundings. It looks like she is in a cabin. The bed that she is in is very hard and uncomfortable. No wonder she woke up immediately feeling pain in her back. The last thing she remembers is falling off the train and now this. Her eyes slowly scroll over to the entrance of her room to see a girl her age standing there with hands behind her back.

"Oh you're finally up."

"Hm…" Cairo groans and she gets up. Crystal smiles at her sweetly and watches Cairo's every move from her looking around to out the window. Feeling herself being watched, Cairo turns her head to the girl and raises an eyebrow. "Yes?"

The girl blushes and quickly shakes her head. "Oh sorry for being rude!" she exclaims and she giggles making Cairo shiver uncomfortably. She turns her head back to the window but it soon whips back when she hears the girl giggle again.

"Something wrong?" asks Cairo, starting to feel a little annoyed. Crystal looks Cairo up and down, paying the most attention to her clothes which consists of baggy black pants and a blue short sleeved shirt. She continues to giggle before it turns into loud laughter.

"I wish to know why you're laughing."

"You wear such boyish clothing. You're a girl right?"

"So? What do you think girls should wear? Clothes such as yours?"

"Well they're a lot more suitable for _girls_." Cairo grunts and before she can say anything else, her father and Crystal's grandfather walks in. Atem had explained how they got there in the first place earlier in the morning.

"Ah, I see you guys have gotten alone quite well," says Adam. "That's wonderful. I bet you guys will become great friends."

"Of course grandpa," says Crystal, putting an arm around Cairo who narrows her eyes.

_I know this chapter was short but this was like an introduction to just some characters will be in this fic. Next chappie will be longer. Please review!_


	3. Mana's Anger

All Yugioh characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

Mana sits on a chair in her hotel room with the phone up to her ear as she tries to contact Atem. But all it does is ring and go to his voicemail. She has tried many times only to have the same outcome. She sighs in defeat and sets her phone on the table before putting her head down on her arms. She couldn't sleep last night because she was so worried about Atem and Cairo. Where are they and most importantly, are they safe?

A knock comes from her door and she lifts her head. "It's me, can I come in?" Tea asks from the other side. Mana stands up holding her stomach as she makes her way over to the door and she opens it revealing Tea's sad smile. "Hey."

"Hey," Mana says back, stepping aside so that Tea can walk in. They both sit side by side on the bed and at first, Tea couldn't even think of anything to say to cheer Mana up. She isn't used to seeing Mana depressed.

"You're worried about them huh?"

"Yeah. I just wanna know that they're safe wherever they are ya know?"

"You shouldn't stress yourself out. It's not good for the baby." Mana bows her head with her head turned and Tea frowns. 'I need to cheer up. I can't stand seeing her this way.'

"Hey Mana? You wanna get something to eat?" As soon as she asks that, Mana's head immediately shoots up and she looks at her with an eager look. Tea smiles. Mana absolutely loves food and her being pregnant makes her love for food even stronger.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYG

Tea and Mana walk into a fast food restaurant. There is a counter in front of them with a female employee ready to take their order. Mana's mouth literally waters up and she looks at the menu, trying to figure out what she is going to order. Tea sweat drops and uses her handkerchief to wipe Mana's mouth, only for more drool to form.

"Well, while you're standing their drooling, I'm gonna order my food," Tea says stepping forward to the counter.

"Welcome to Joes…can I take your order?" the woman wearing a mini skirt and her shirt buttoned down revealing her busts asks. She doesn't seem to enthusiastic about her job telling by her tone.

"Well let's see…I'll have…" The woman taps impatiently on the counter and sighs heavily in frustration. "I guess I'll have—"

"GEEZ LADY COULD YOU ORDER ANY SLOWER!?" she yells at the top of her lungs.

"Excuse me?"

"Go ahead and order so that I can move on with my life!"

Mana stands aside Tea with her arms folded. "Is there a problem?" Mana asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Looks like she has a bit of an attitude," Tea replies. "Where's your manager?"

"He ain't here at the moment."

"Look, take her order so we can go," Mana says motioning toward the door.

"You can't tell me what to do."

"Yes I can. I'm the customer. Now I'll ask you again to take her order so we can leave." The woman doesn't budge and Mana narrows her eyes. "You're pushing it. You're really pushing it." The employee rolls her eyes making Mana even more annoyed.

"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it?" the employee asks as her face gets closer to Mana's. "I'm waiting." A trickle of spit gets onto Mana's face making it the final straw. "So what are you gonna do?" She shoves Mana lightly.

"Hey! What's the matter with you!?" Tea asks standing in front of Mana.

"I am _not_ in the mood ok? I got a headache and my boyfriend just broke up with me!" the employee yells back.

"Doesn't mean you have to take out your frustration on us."

"Just get out of my face before I—"

"Before you do this?" Mana asks, punching her dead in the face and the woman falls back to the floor in a heap. Tea shakes her head.

"Mana you're really putting a lot of stress on yourself."

"No one spits in my face and shoves me and gets away with it."

"I guess you've lost your appetite now huh?"

"Heck no! Let's find another place to eat! I'm starving!" Mana exclaims rubbing her stomach, her mouth once again filling up with drool and Tea sweat drops.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYG

Atem wakes up to a lot of commotion and he sits up in bed. He looks out the window to find a lot of lights flashing everywhere and he hears a lot of footsteps. Cairo, who has to share the same bed as him because there is not a lot of room in the house, wakes up as well to all the commotion too. She rubs her eyes and gives out a long yawn.

"When I find out whoever woke me up they're dead," she says grumpily. Adam runs into their room with a look of panic on their face.

"You must come out immediately!" he exclaims before running. Cairo and Atem both exchange looks before following him outside. They find everyone standing in two straight lines in front of their houses as a couple of men walk around holding bags.

"Hurry up! Move it!" yells one of them. "Kids in one line! Adults in another! Let's go! You know the drill!" Atem gets by Adam in one line while Cairo finds her place by Crystal in another line across from all the adults.

"What's going on?" Atem whispers to Adam.

"They come her random nights to take half of our food and goods," Adam whispers back.

"But why?"

"Our leader Siegfried. He requires this." The men go in houses with their bags empty and come out with them full. They drag a few people out who don't have enough to supply their leader and they are beaten. After a few minutes of this, they leave in large trucks and everyone returns to their homes.

"Geez, what was all of that about?" Cairo asks.

"We have to go through this all the time. They come randomly to take some of our food and valuables to our leader Siegfried."

"That's terrible."

"He uses our food and valuables to supply his own needs. He's too lazy to grow his own food so he takes ours and sometimes our stuff. And if we don't have enough, then you're beaten or thrown into prison."

_So yeah, the plot is beginning to start and yeah…never make a pregnant Mana mad. You'll regret it… Please review!_


	4. A Bad Decision

All Yugioh characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

Cairo moves uncomfortably in bed that same night those men came into the village. She couldn't stop thinking about the incident. She rolls over to lie on her stomach, then to her back and then back to her stomach. She blows out a puff of air causing the hair in front of her face to flutter then land back on her face.

"Can't sleep?" asks her father who is lying beside her with his arms behind his head and his eyes focusing on the ceiling.

"No. I can't get the previous events out of my head."

"I see." Silence comes after those two words, allowing Cairo to think a little bit more on the matter. She rests her chin on her arms and looks to the wall ahead of her with narrowed eyes. When she cannot come up with a conclusion to the answers in her head, she groans loudly. "Cairo."

"Why do they allow themselves to be treated this way?" she asks looking at him.

"I was wondering the exact same thing actually. Perhaps they believe that their leader is so powerful that they cannot rise up against him and his men."

"Perhaps…" Atem's eyes go in his daughter's direction. She is now sitting up with her arms folded across her chest and a serious gaze on her face as she thinks more on the situation. She groans in frustration and he shakes his head.

"You shouldn't stress yourself out about this. Get some rest."

"I want to but—"

"Cairo." She lets out a sigh of defeat before lying back down with her back facing him.

'I just wish I could help,' she thinks to herself before closing her eyes.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYG

Crystal grins as she sneaks into the room that Cairo is staying in the next morning. Atem already out of the room makes it easier for her to scare Cairo. She approaches the unsuspecting victim who lies on the bed with the covers over her whole entire body. Right before Crystal is about to scare her, Cairo's eyes fly open and Crystal jumps back, startled.

"Ah shoot. And I was so close too," Crystal says with disappointment as Cairo sits up with her hair all over the place. Crystal on the other hand is already dressed in her dress and her hair is put into two neat pig tails that rest on her shoulders. Cairo gives her a quick glare before rolling her eyes. "I see you're not a morning person."

"How can I help you?" Cairo asks.

"Well since you're probably gonna be staying here for awhile until someone finds you and your dad, you can help me plant the crops outside."

"Crops?" Crystal nods as she walks up to the bed and sits on it beside Cairo who moves away uncomfortably.

"Yes. But of course, you'd have to do something with that hair of yours," she says, her face moving closer to Cairo's.

"Too close." Cairo starts moving back but each time she does that, Crystal moves forward. She gasps as Crystal grabs her hair and a brush and she starts to brush her hair down. "You're making me feel very uncomfortable." She hates when anyone gets too close to her besides her parents.

"I'm just fixing this hair of yours. I couldn't bear to look at the monstrosity any longer."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Your hair is a mess. But don't you worry. I'll have it fixed up in a jiffy. Maybe I should put it in a ponyt—"

Cairo quickly moves away and stands up with her arms folded and her eyes narrowed. "You are _not_ putting _my_ hair in a pony tail. Out of the question!"

"How can you work if you have so much hair in your face?"

"I can manage thank you," says Cairo walking out of the room with Crystal following her close behind with the brush still in her hand. "I dislike my hair in a ponytail."

"And why's that?" Cairo stops and turns around with a pout on her face. She raises her hand to lift part of her hair to flash one of her ears and Crystal nearly bursts out laughing. Instead she giggles before Cairo turns away. "Wow. Where did you get such big ears?"

"My father…"

"Ha! That explains everything! Haha!"

"Shut up!" Cairo exclaims and she storms off with Crystal still behind her. They meet up with their parents who are in the kitchen. Crystal continues to laugh while Cairo groans. "I said shut up!"

"Cairo. We do not talk to people that way," Atem reprimands her and his daughter glances his way with narrowed eyes and gritted teeth.

"Gah! It's all your fault!" Cairo yells at him.

"What?" Atem asks, looking confused. Then his eyes widen in realization before he sighs, placing a hand on his forehead. 'The ear thing again. Why can't she ever let that go? I can't help that she inherited most of my genes.'

"We're going outside to do the crops grandpa," Crystal chuckles and her grandfather nods as the two girls walk out.

"Ah, they grow up so fast don't they?" Adam asks and Atem nods in agreement. "I'm glad Crystal found a friend."

'Friend? By the looks of it Cairo doesn't consider her one at all,' Atem says in his head with a sweat drop and his eyes dimmed down.

"I can remember when she was just a little baby," Adam goes on, bringing Atem out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I'm actually expecting another one," Atem reveals and Adam's eyes widen in surprise.

"Is that so? Well congratulations."

"Thank you. I just really wish that I could get back to my wife. She needs me especially when the baby should be coming soon. But I have no idea where we are or where they are."

"Don't worry. I'm sure that someone will find you soon and reunite you with your wife."

"Yes."

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYG

"On a serious note Crystal," Cairo says wiping the dirt off her face with her arm. "Have you guys ever thought about standing up to Siegfried?"

"Well _I've_ thought about it. Everyone else is too afraid to do anything," she replies looking at Cairo now. "One of these days I'm gonna go after him myself."

"That's not too smart."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because Siegfried has a lot of men. How do you plan on even getting near him?"

"I'll think of a way!" Cairo shakes her head. "You don't think I can do it do you?"

"No," Cairo replies bluntly with a blank stare making Crystal narrow her eyes and growl inwardly.

"I'll show you! Just you wait!"

"Um…okay."

Later on that night while everyone is in bed sleeping from a hard day, Crystal tip toes out of her house. The dirt roads are empty and the lights to everyone's houses are off. She looks ahead, further into the distance where there is a huge castle on a hill that belongs to Siegfried. 'Siegfried here I come.' She starts toward that direction but stops when a pair of headlights come on from behind her. Her head whips around to see a truck. She can hear the engine starting and soon it comes at her.

Crystal lets out a scream as she prepares to be struck. But something softer hits her and soon she finds herself flying until she hits the ground out of the trucks path. She sits up and looks beside her to see Cairo. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing?! Are your trying to get yourself killed?" Crystal opens her mouth to speak again until she hears the truck's engine again. She and Cairo gasp as the trucks speeds their way, about to hit them.

_Sorry for such a long update. ^-^; Please review._


	5. Taking a Stand

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Cairo quickly whips out her black wand and a protective barrier appears in front of Crystal and herself as the truck comes toward them at full speed. It hits the barrier once, causing a crack and for Cairo to flinch a little. Then the truck backs up and once again goes at them at full speed. Crystal screams and covers her face while Cairo can only close her eyes, expecting the worse. The truck hits the barrier and it breaks. Luckily it stopped halfway though and did not hit them.

Feeling as if the air has been knocked out of her, Cairo falls face forward to the ground. "Cairo!" yells Crystal and she watches as men get out the truck and starts to approach them with rope in their hands. Crystal shakes Cairo in a panic. "Cairo! Wake up! Please wake up!" She screams when she feels herself being picked up by the back of her blouse.

"And what are you doing out here so late, hm?" asks one of the men with a smirk on his face.

"Let me go! I warning you!"

"I'll ask you one last--"

"Dark Magic Attack!" commands a booming voice from inside one of the houses. A large green sphere shoots right at the trucks, bursting it into flames. The man gasps before dropping Crystal on the ground.

"What was that?" asks another.

"I don't know! But let's report this back to Siegfried immediately!" They run away as Atem and Adam come out of the house. Atem walks over to his daughter who is trying to at least get on her hands in knees as he puts a card away in his pocket. Cairo groans and shakes her head before looking up to her father who stares down at her for a moment before helping her up.

"Cairo Giza Mutou you have a lot of explaining to do," he says.

"It's not her fault," says Crystal standing beside Adam. "She saved me."

"What were you doing out here in the first place?" asks her grandfather.

"I'm sick of Siegfried and his men coming into our village and taking our stuff that we worked hard for. I wanted to take action!"

"Are you mad? You could've gotten seriously--" Adam is suddenly interrupted by the sounds of loud motors. There are numerous trucks coming their way. Soon, the lights to everyone's houses turn on and the people go outside and stand in line as the men search their houses.

'This is out of control! They shouldn't be allowed to do this!' Crystal says to herself, standing in line with her eyes narrowed. All heads whip over when they hear an elderly man cry for help. He is getting dragged out of his house with one of his men with his wife.

"Someone help!" he yells.

"Quiet old man!" shouts the man, pushing him to the ground.

"Charles!" exclaims his wife and she kneels down to him. In the background, their house is being burned by two men with torches. Charles and his wife look on with tears in their eyes as their house gets burned quickly to the ground.

"Get up!" yells a thug and he picks Charles up by his arm. Cairo grits her teeth and growls inwardly, taking a step forward, but Atem grabs her shoulder. She looks up at him and he shakes his head.

"Control yourself…" he advises her and she turns her head away. She doesn't want to just sit there and watch the elderly couple get harassed by these men. Crystal clenches her fists at her sides and shuts her eyes, trying to block out all the noise.

"Please stop this!" pleads Charles.

"Shut up!" Charles is suddenly slapped by the man and he falls to the ground. Gasps come from all directions as everyone looks on. The sound of the man slapping the elderly man seems to echo through Crystal's ears. Her eyes pop open and she soon finds herself rushing toward one of the men and ramming him down to the dirt ground, attacking his face mercilessly as the man wails and cries for help.

"Crystal!" yells her grandfather and he attempts to run over to her when one of the men stops him.

"One more move and you'll end up in the same state as the other old man!" Adam watches helplessly as his granddaughter gets snatched up and carried away.

"Let her go!" pleads Adam, trying to get through.

Cairo covers her ears and turns away. Just standing there not being able to do anything to help pains her. But even if she does try to help out, she would probably be overpowered by the men since there are more of them. She clenches her teeth and shakes her head, trying to resist the urge to run out there and go all out.

'Darn it…' thinks Atem with narrowed eyes, looking on at all the chaos. 'I wish there was something I can do! But what? There's too many of them!...That's it!'

"Everyone listen! There's more of us and less of them! If we work together, we may be able to overpower them!" Atem announces to everyone. The villagers look among themselves with unsure looks on their faces, trying to debate on whether to go on with the stranger's plan. One woman makes her mind up and picks up a wooden plank that is lying on the ground and she lifts it up into the air. Soon other people take her lead and let out a huge battle cry, putting the other guys in fear.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYG

Mana grimaces before placing a hand on her stomach with a puzzled look on her face. Another sharp pain goes through her and she doubles over. She places one hand on the window sill of her room for support and she looks at part of her reflection in the window. 'It can't be time. I'm not due until another couple of weeks…'

Taking her time, she walks over to her cell phone that is lying on the bed and she picks it up to call Tea's number. Tea picks up and she raises an eyebrow when she hears light panting on the other side. "Mana? What's up?"

"I think it's…time," Mana says between pants and Tea's eyes widen in surprise.

"W-What!? But Mana, you're not supposed to be due until--"

"I know, I know. But…get me help…please. I don't know…how much more of this…I can take…" And with that she hangs up, dropping her phone on the floor and heading toward the door to get ready to be picked up. She leans on the wall and shuts her eyes as another wave of pain hits her. 'Why now? Atem…'

Sorry again for the long updates. Got a lot schoolwork to do. Please review!


	6. Who to Blame

"Cairo," Atem calls in the darkness. It is pitch black where he currently is. If he put a hand up to his face, he still wouldn't be able to see. Well he couldn't lift his hand even if he tried. For some reason, he feels that his hands are restrained tightly by metal. He calls his daughter's name once more only to hear no reply.

He knows she's there even though he can't see. He can feel her presence near him. Either she is knocked out from the blow she sustained earlier from the battle or she is just ignoring him out of anger because they lost to Siegfried's men. They had fought long and hard only to lose. They had so many reinforcements that they ended up overpowering him and the villagers. Then they captured them and took them to a place unknown.

Atem sighs heavily and tries a more different approach to calling her. An approach that would probably annoy her but most likely make her reply. "Giza," he calls her calmly by her middle name and he gets an annoyed grunt in reply. He grins. "If you had answered me in the beginning, I wouldn't have to address you by that name."

"…hate that name…" her voice echoes and Atem rolls his amethyst eyes before becoming serious.

"I believe we're trapped."

"Gee, what gave you that idea?"

"Don't get smart with me," he warns. Cairo can practically picture his narrowed eyes that would be on her because of her little remark. "Can your magic get us out?"

"Can't."

"And why's that?" A door opens, bringing in a little light and a tall man with a burgundy suit and long pink hair stands at the entrance with his hands behind his back. He flicks on a light switch and Atem takes this opportunity to locate Cairo who is hanging on the opposite wall from his. The only difference is that she is hanging upside down and he, right side up.

The man only stares at them, not saying one word. Atem narrows his eyes and yells, "Who are you!?" The man simply turns his back on him, only to make Atem even more annoyed than before. "Answer me!"

The pink haired man snaps his fingers with his back still turned and one of the guards walks in carrying some sort of metal stick with a switch. "Yes, Mr. Siegfried," obeys the guard. The guard hits Atem with the stick and static electricity emits from it, causing Atem to cry out in pain before bowing his head when it was all over.

"Dad!" Cairo exclaims before turning her glare on the guard who walks out with Siegfried, closing the door behind them.

Atem lifts up his head and grimaces with a dazed expression on his face and a goofy smile on his lips. "At least he left the light on…" He cackles and drops his head again. Cairo narrows her eyes at him and suddenly his head is pushed back by an enormous force and it hits the concrete wall. Cairo bites her lip and shuts her eyes. It feels as if she has busted a blood vessel in her head from doing that simple trick.

"AAUGH!" Atem yells. "Did you have to do that so hard? And I thought you couldn't use your magic."

"I can but I can't," she replies.

"W-Wha--?" Atem asks, still a little dazed.

"I could if I wanted to but the current position that I'm in makes it really hard for me to focus and it puts a strain on me. That's why I can't."

"Well we have to get out of here!"

"Then think of a plan Atem!" she yells back.

"I'm trying if you let me! And don't use that tone with me!"

"You yelled at me first!"

"Darn it Cairo! It's your fault that we're in this predicament in the first place! Mana could be having her baby right now and I can't be there with her because you--!" He stops in the middle of his sentence as he gazes into his daughter's hurt eyes. He sighs heavily. "Cairo--"

"Stop…"

"Cairo just let me apo--"

"Stop it. You don't need to. I understand…" There is silence between them. Atem closes his eyes, regretting on what he just said. Once again, his anger and his frustration have caused him to go too far. This isn't the first time he and his daughter have argued like this and he's said something that has hurt her feelings.

_Flashback_

_Cairo pants as she runs out of a burning building and she drops to her hands and knees on the ground as she tries to take in some fresh air. Her hair blows through the wind as she turns her head back to the destruction that she has created. It had all started when she was making something over the stove and left for awhile to use the bathroom. When she came back, the whole kitchen was in flames._

_Her eyes scroll up to the top floor window where she sees a shadow of a person. Her stomach drops and she quickly stands up. "Grandpa!" she screams and she attempts to run back into the burning building as fire trucks and ambulances arrive at the scene. But she suddenly feels herself being pulled back by her mother who just arrived with Atem in their car. Mana holds Cairo by her shoulders and turns her so that they can face each other._

_"Cairo, what happened!?" Mana asks._

_"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she apologizes profusely and she turns her head back to the window. Atem's eyes widen in horror and he turns his head left and right._

_"Where's grandpa?" he asks, snatching Cairo away from Mana._

_"He's…he's…"_

_"TELL ME!" he yells from the top of his lungs, giving her a shake as he does so. In the background the firemen start to extinguish the fire little by little. "CAIRO WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"_

_"Dad…"_

_"Atem please…" Mana says, tears forming in her eyes._

_"I was…just making my food and then…"_

_"How could you be so careless? Because of you, grandpa's…" He moves away from her abruptly, leaving her by herself with her head bowed to the ground with guilt._

_End Flashback _

Atem snaps out of his thoughts when he hears clacking sounds coming from Cairo's direction. Using the little upper body strength that she has, she lifts herself from the upside down position to grasp onto the chains that are holding her ankles. With one hand, she holds onto the chain and with the other she moves the hair out of her face to concentrate.

She closes her eyes and momentarily opens them and her eyes flash before the chains disappear and she drops to the ground. She yelps and lands on her back with a grunt.

"Cairo you did it," Atem says as she uses her magic to set him free as well. He lands gracefully on his feet and she turns away as he approaches her. "Cairo--"

"We should get the others out of here too," she interrupts, walking forward toward the door and Atem sighs.

'Cairo…I'm sorry…'

_Way to go Atem. Hurting Cairo's feeling like that. Please review!_


	7. Slowing it Down

Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

Atem and Cairo stand side by side in front of the door of their cell that will grant them their partial freedom. They still need to get Adam, Crystal and the other villagers out as well as defeat Siegfried and his men. Cairo points her wand at the door with her eyes focused. "Careful," Atem warns her, "We don't want to make too much--" He stops when the door glows and is blown back to the wall with an enormous force from her wand. "…Noise," he finishes with a sweat drop. He sighs as she walks forward and he quickens his pace to catch up with her.

"I assume that you are going to ignore me for the rest of the day?" She glances back at him with narrowed eyes before continuing to walk forward, observing her surroundings as she does so. He hates when she is in one of her little bad moods although they are rare for her to have. At times such as this, she would shut herself down completely and stay in her own little world, ignoring everything that he says.

"Cairo, let's talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about," she says in a high whisper.

"Oh so you are talking…" he mutters to himself with his eyebrow arched.

"It's very clear that you believe that this is all my fault so what else is there to discuss? Let's just drop it and move on."

"I'm trying, but how can we when you're still upset?" She stops and stares forward. Atem walks up beside her and examines her eyes which seem to be focused on something. That's when he looks forward to see a rather huge guard standing in front of them. "Great…"

Mana cries out as a wave of pain hits her for the millionth time that night. She lies in the hospital bed and rolls to her side as she tries to hold in all the tears. Her face is red and her forehead is sweaty with her brown hair sticking to the sides of her head. Tea sits at her bedside with her head bowed and her eyes closed, sleeping. The time for Mana to deliver has not come yet nor does she want it to even though she is going through excruciating pain. She doesn't want to give birth until Atem is there.

'Atem…' She grimaces, shutting her eyes, letting the tears fall to the bed sheets. 'I need you.' Slowly, she uses her arms to sit up and she gets out of bed, placing her feet on the cold floor. She takes a couple of steps, holding her stomach, hoping that walking would ease the pain. She holds onto the wall for support and sighs heavily, taking in some deep breaths before closing her eyes and bowing her head in a meditation-like state.

'Where are you two?' she asks herself and she begins to concentrate. At first, she could see nothing but darkness in her head. Using her magic is very dangerous especially in the state that she is in. But she is growing very worried about the whereabouts of Atem and Cairo. She gasps sharply when she sees a flash of light and her eyes fly open as a sharp pain shoots through her head.

"Aauugh…What was that?" she asks out loud, holding her head. She looks at Tea who is still sleeping and sighs in relief. She takes one step which makes a small creak on the floor and her eyes widen when she senses someone's presence behind her.

"And what are you doing up young lady?" Mana turns her head to see Tea standing up with her eyes narrowed at her and her arms folded across chest, tapping her foot on the ground.

Mana dims her eyes and sweat drops, looking at Tea with disbelief. "You slept through all my screaming yet I make one small movement and _then _you wake up?"

"You're supposed to be in bed."

"Geez, you sound like my mom…Take a chill pill."

"I'm responsible for looking after you and I say get back in bed," says Tea leading Mana back over to the bed and making sure she gets tucked in. "What were you doing up anyway?"

"I got worried," she replies.

"Oh…"

"I just…wish they were here. Where I know they're safe."

"I'm sure they're doing just fine."

"AH!" Cairo screams as she gets thrown against the wall by the rather huge, muscular guard. He pins her against the wall using just one hand and he grins. She gasps for air and tries desperately to kick out of his grasp but to no avail. He presses her harder against the wall, making her eyes go wide for a split second before her head drops and her body goes limp.

"DARK MAGIC ATTACK!" Atem commands his Dark Magician and it flies behind the guard and does it attack, causing the guard to drop Cairo on the floor. Atem glares angrily into the guard's eyes while the guard only grins and laughs at his expression.

"You think you can hurt me little man?" asks the guard with his arms folded across his chest. The attack from the Dark Magician has only left a small injury on his back and doesn't seem to have affected him at all.

"You'll pay for what you've done…" He looks toward his Dark Magician with narrowed eyes and the monster nods, knowing what he must do. "Prepare yourself…" The Dark Magician stands in front of Atem with its wand outstretched toward the guard.

"I'm done playing games with you and this brat. First I will destroy you, then that little girl of yours," says the guard and he starts charging at Atem and his magician.

Atem grins and clenches his fists. "Alright…You know what to do!" The magician's wand glows and suddenly, a dark hole appears. The guard stops in his tracks as a huge wind starts to suck him in, but he stands his ground. Atem grunts.

"You think this will stop me!?"

"Yes," comes a voice from behind him and they both look to see Cairo standing there with her wand in her hand. The wand glows and a huge force knocks him off balance, sending him into the black hole. As soon as he was completely inside, it closes and the Dark Magician disappears. Atem runs up to her daughter who is panting heavily and sweating bullets.

"Your energy is drained; you must rest," he advises her, taking her by the hand. She moves her hand away and takes a deep breath, wiping the sweat from her face.

"I am fine," she says, taking a step forward. "We need to--" She gasps as her legs give out and she hits the floor. She whines and Atem sweatdrops with his arms folded across his chest.

"You were saying?"

"Okay, a five minute break wouldn't hurt," she says with a pout on her face.

"Uh huh…"

_Review please! Sorry for my long absence and updating! :(_


End file.
